On the Jiuzhou Continent, spiritual qi revival has begun. The protagonist, Su Chen, was born into a poor family with crippled meridians and was humiliated when his engagement was broken off. After awakening his powers, he plays the pig to eat the tiger at every turn. A life-and-death pact links his soul with Mu Wanling, a female emperor who vanished a thousand years ago. When she travels the world disguised as a man, she is a cold-faced formation master; when she appears as a woman, she is the supreme master of talisman arts: childish, willful, and sharp-tongued but soft-hearted. They become stand-ins for each other and cultivate a path that defies fate. He helps her rekindle the flame of the Dao, while she helps him shed his reputation as a useless fool. From a remote frontier town to the ninefold heavenly palaces, one seeks to overturn her fated destiny, while the other seeks to reclaim his lost true self. If the Dao is unkind, I’ll forge a new one; if Heaven seeks my death, I’ll carve out a way to survive. In this world, the strongest formation is the human heart, and the most powerful talisman is a promise.
